Contents

Background

Shin as a child.

Even though he was trained to abandon his emotions, Shin grew close to a younger Root member, Sai. He recognised Sai's talent for art, and encouraged him to continue the hobby. Sai looked up to him as a brother and began to shed Root's teachings, but Shin soon died of an unknown disease, leaving Sai's training to suppress most of his memories of Shin.[1] Prior to Shin's death, it was noted that he and Sai were supposed to fight to the death by Root regulations, in a final step to eradicate emotions. After Sai met Naruto Uzumaki, who he noted to be similar to Shin, Sai's memories of him returned, which brought a smile to his face.[3]

In the anime, where his story is expanded, Sai and Shin were forced to fight to the death by Danzō Shimura to fully kill their emotions. Knowing that he was terminally ill, Shin told Sai to report to Danzō that he killed him in battle. Before telling him to go, Shin told Sai that he must suppress his feelings otherwise, the missions undertaken by Root would consume him. As Sai leaves to report to Danzō, Shin dies.[4]

Personality

According to Sai, Shin and Naruto are very similar stating that Shin was also loud, impatient, and unrefined.[5] Shin was also a very kind individual with a pleasant disposition as he helped Sai pursue his interest in drawing. He was also stated to be very tenacious and absent-minded.[1]

Appearance

Shin had grey hair and light-coloured eyes,[6] which are depicted as black in the anime. When he was a child, he wore a pale yellow shirt together with a pair of dark brown pants. These outfits were the ones he wore in the cover of Sai's picture book. When he was older, he wore the official uniform of the ANBU, and carried giant shuriken as well as a tantō on his back. After being reincarnated by Kabuto Yakushi, it was revealed that at some point before his death he used to wear an outfit exactly like the one his brother wears inclusive of the customary Root jacket. In the manga, he also wore a Konoha forehead protector when he was reincarnated.[6]

Abilities

Shin clashes with Kankurō's puppet Scorpion.

Shin was a skilled shinobi during his lifetime, enough to be reincarnated by Kabuto to fight in the Fourth Shinobi World War. When he fought against the Alliance's Surprise Attack Division, he used the standard tantō of the Root shinobi, and was very skilled at close range combat.

Just as he was about to be detonated, Shin was captured by Kankurō's Salamander puppet, which effectively stifled the blast. As he reformed, he then told Sai that he didn't want to hurt him, as he had already been freed from Root. As an enraged Sai attacked Sasori and Deidara, Shin saw the image that Sai had drawn of the two together, recollecting the time when it was created. After the remainder of his platoon were restrained, Sai suggested they finish the fight they never got to start all those years ago but Shin tells him there was no need, as finally seeing Sai's drawing, had freed his soul. He then crumbled, leaving behind a pile of earth and ash along with the corpse of an unknown individual that was used as a sacrifice in the ritual.

Trivia

In the anime, Shin's eyes were depicted as being black. However, when he was reincarnated — the only time his eyes are seen open in the manga — they are depicted as being light-coloured.[6] Curiously, when Shin is reincarnated in the anime, his eyes are black in colour, however when Sasori uses Shin as a puppet, his eyes turn white as if his personality had been eliminated by Kabuto, which was not the case.[7]

According to the databook(s):

His hobby was to look at pictures Sai drew.

Quotes

(To Sai) "I… don't want to harm you. In death… I was finally free of "Root"."[8]